FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS THE CP RAIL CORRIDOR INITIATIVE

Transcription

1 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS THE CP RAIL CORRIDOR INITIATIVE 1

2 A BRIEF HISTORY The abandoned Canadian Pacific (CP) Rail Corridor between Sicamous and Armstrong is a transportation corridor that represents enormous opportunity for the Regional District of North Okanagan and the surrounding region. The Regional District of North Okanagan (RDNO) and the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) have negotiated a Contract of Purchase and Sale with Canadian Pacific Railway Company for purchase of the abandoned CP Rail Corridor known as the former Okanagan Subdivision from Mile 0.3 to Mile 1.2, Mile 1.8 to 23.5 and Mile 25.5 to ( the Lands ). The abandoned rail line is a continuous, uninterrupted corridor from the District of Sicamous to the City of Armstrong, including the approximate 7 kms that passes through Splatsin Indian Reserve Nos. 2 & 3. Keeping the corridor in public ownership for use as a public right of way will provide for recreational opportunities in the near term, particularly pedestrian and bicycle transportation, as well as opportunities to meet future transportation and economic needs of the region. The purchase price is $6.5 million for the approximate 43 km corridor, excluding approximately 7 km already acquired by the Splatsin First Nation. The $6.5 million purchase price will be divided equally between a Provincial government grant, the RDNO and the CSRD. The Province s financial commitment of $2.17 million has already been obtained. The RDNO s portion amounts to $2.17 million. The RDNO proposes to finance its share of the purchase price through long-term borrowing in the amount of $2.3 million (includes the issuance costs charged by the Municipal Finance Authority (MFA)). Public approval must be obtained before the RDNO can adopt the North Okanagan/Shuswap Rail Trail Service Establishment Bylaw No. 2748, 2017 (Bylaw No. 2748, 2017) and North Okanagan/Shuswap Rail Trail Loan Authorization Bylaw No. 2749, 2017 (Bylaw No. 2749, 2017) to establish a service and borrow these funds. The RDNO jurisdictions that will participate in the proposed purchase include the City of Armstrong, City of Enderby, Village of Lumby, Township of Spallumcheen and Electoral Areas D and F within the RDNO. This overview profiles the CP Rail Corridor project for all residents and taxpayers of the participating jurisdictions within the RDNO. The paper uses a Q&A format that anticipates and answers some of the questions that people may have. If your specific question is not addressed here, please feel free to contact the RDNO (contact details are provided at the end of this document). 2

3 FAQ - CORRIDOR LANDS Q: Where is the rail corridor? How long is it? A: The length of the Sicamous to Armstrong corridor (see map) is approximately 50 kilometres (or 31 miles) and is commonly referred to as the Okanagan Subdivision ( Line ). The entire Line runs from Sicamous (mile 0.3) to Armstrong (mile 31.63). The northern segment of the line (mile: ) runs through the CSRD, including the municipality of Sicamous. The southern segment (mile ) runs through the RDNO, including the municipalities of Enderby, Spallumcheen, and Armstrong. The Splatsin First Nation has already acquired approximately 7 km of the 50 km rail corridor made up of a 1 km section immediately south of the District of Sicamous and a 6 km section starting immediately south of the City of Enderby. Q: Why isn t the rail corridor being used for train traffic? A: The Line has been owned by CP since 1891 and was most recently operated and maintained from November 1998 until August 2009 by OmniTRAX Inc., pursuant to a lease agreement with CP. There have been no railway operations on the Line since OmniTRAX ceased its operations in August (mile: 0.3 to 16.4) in November 2012 and the southern segment in April Q: Will CP turn over a completely contiguous right of way? A: Yes. However, it should be noted that the portions of the corridor that pass through Splatsin Reserve lands are not included in the transfer. To ensure the corridor remains contiguous, the three owner jurisdictions (i.e., RDNO, Splatsin & CSRD) have agreed that the corridor will be developed, operated and maintained for its use as a continuous recreational trail as well as future potential use as a continuous multi-modal regional transportation corridor. Further, the owner jurisdictions will covenant with each other under the terms of a statutory right of way agreement for public access over those sections of the corridor that they own, to maintain it (and not encumber it) in perpetuity for these ultimate uses. Control of the Line was returned to CP following the expiration of its lease agreement with OmniTRAX Inc. in August 2009, and CP Rail began the formal process of discontinuing the Line between Sicamous and Armstrong. The rail line is composed of two distinct segments notably, the north and the south. CP attempted to dispose of the two segments separately through a different transfer and discontinuance process. In accordance with the Canada Transportation Act, CP initially advertised the availability of the Line for continued rail operations by another rail operator. As no agreement was reached with a viable successor, CP later offered to sell all of its interest in the rail line to the provincial and municipal governments. Although two expressions of interest were received from local governments to separately acquire the north and south segments of the Line, CP Rail was unable to arrive at an agreement to sell either segment of the rail line. As a result, CP formally discontinued the northern segment of the rail corridor 3

4 FAQ - CORRIDOR USE Q: What kind of transportation might happen on the corridor and when? A: The flat grade, limited road crossings and connection to the urban centres of the North Okanagan/Shuswap make the corridor a viable transportation route possibility for future generations. Transforming the corridor into a recreational trail or linear park for pedestrians and cyclists is a popular idea that will benefit visitors and residents of the North Okanagan/Shuswap region. Until the population base of the municipalities is sufficient to support some form of mass transportation, it is unlikely that development of a transit corridor would happen, beyond active transportation such as cycling. Q: What would the trail look like? When would it be built? A: Due to the significant investment to purchase the corridor, local governments are not in a position to make any significant financial commitment to develop a trail in the short term. Negotiations surrounding the purchase have focused on the acquisition of the corridor as a strategic investment, rather than how to maximize the recreational and economic potential of the corridor, or potential funding for a development plan. Although there is no trail development plan at this time, there is considerable interest among the jurisdictions involved, and the public, for the timely development and operation of a continuous recreational trail within the corridor. In order to achieve this goal cooperatively, the jurisdictions plan to establish an Inter-jurisdictional Development Team (IDT) to plan and develop the initial improvements required for a basic, continuous recreational trail. Q: Will RDNO taxpayers have input into the design and development decisions and if so, by what mechanism? A: Yes, rail trails represent a community decision. As with other land use planning exercises, the RDNO would seek public input on lands that it owns and has control over. Details surrounding this process have not yet been determined as the land is not currently owned by the RDNO. Q: How will the rail trail be developed, managed and maintained after purchase? A: In the absence of a trail development plan, it is not possible to say with any certainty how the trail will be developed, managed, and maintained. To date, the RDNO and the CSRD have focused on protecting the corridor through acquisition. Development, operations and maintenance of the corridor could take many forms and will need to be evaluated. It is anticipated that a plan for development of a recreational trail will be one of the first steps upon successful acquisition of the corridor. The future will be determined, in large part, through public input if the corridor is acquired. Q: Who is going to pay the maintenance costs for the corridor? A: Maintenance and upgrades would be managed through the IDT with funding from senior government, participation by private citizens, organizations and companies, as well as volunteers interested in land stewardship. While there may be costs in the future to develop and maintain the rail corridor, the overall objective is to fund development and maintenance costs through non tax-based revenues. Q: Who will be responsible for fencing along the right of way if there is a perceived conflict with adjacent property owners? A: Operations, maintenance, and security of the corridor is yet to be determined; however, these lands would likely be treated similar to other regional district or jointly held lands in our inventory. Property owners would have the right to install fencing on their own property if they wished. Q: How will unauthorized access and use of the corridor be managed prior to full development and management of a recreation corridor? A: It is acknowledged that a key part of the development and management plan of the corridor will be to identify and establish corridor access points. These access points will be established through the IDT. Prior to the full development and management of the corridor, it is anticipated that temporary signage will be installed to restrict access and discourage unauthorized use. 4

5 FAQ - ENVIRONMENTAL Q: Who is responsible for the immediate environmental clean-up and to what level? A: As part of the negotiations, CP Rail undertook an environmental assessment of the Lands. During the assessment, contamination was identified in three small sections of the corridor (identified areas). CP Rail has offered to provide BC Ministry of Environment (MoE) instruments, in this case Certificates of Compliance (CoCs), for the identified areas. The CoCs will provide a relatively high standard of due diligence for the sections to which they apply. It is unknown at this stage whether any hidden environmental hazards exist in the corridor outside of the identified areas. The Regional Districts will assess environmental issues that may be assumed under this contract during the three-month due diligence period. They will have until early August 2017 to have their environmental consultants obtain and review reports and provide advice regarding any further investigations, studies or tests which ought to be completed to mitigate or manage unidentified risks. Q: What environmental remediation will be left for the participating communities and are there plans to deal with this? A: CP Rail will be required to obtain CoC s for identified areas from the Ministry of Environment and remediate these areas to industrial land use standards; this will be a continuing obligation on CP Rail, post-closing. CP will also provide copies of previous environmental reports to the Regional Districts, along with reliance letters from CP Rail s consultants. These letters will allow the Regional Districts to rely on such reports in making the determination of whether the Lands are acceptable. It is too early to say whether there are any unidentified environmental issues, or what the related remediation costs might be. As noted previously, it is during the due diligence period that the Regional Districts will review the existing environmental reports and undertake further assessment work if deemed appropriate. Should the Regional Districts discover any problems or issues regarding the condition of the corridor that cannot be resolved with CP Rail, they will have the ability to renegotiate or terminate the contract. 5

6 FAQ - FINANCIAL Q: How much is the RDNO asking to borrow? A: The RDNO is seeking approval to borrow up to $2,300,000 ($2,170,000 plus issuance costs) through Loan Authorization Bylaw 2749, 2017 to purchase a 50% share of the abandoned CP Rail Corridor known as the former Okanagan Subdivision from Mile 0.3 to Mile 1.2, Mile 1.8 to 23.5 and Mile 25.5 to Q: What is the full cost and who is paying for the entire corridor? A: The total purchase price is $6.5 million for the approximate 43 km corridor, excluding the approximate 7 km already acquired by the Splatsin First Nation. The $6.5 million purchase price will be divided equally between the Provincial government, the RDNO, and the CSRD. The RDNO s portion amounts to $2.17 million, but will cost $2.3 million including issuance costs. Q: How will the RDNO fund its share of the purchase price? A: The purchase of the RDNO s 50% share of the corridor, reduced by the Provincial contribution of $2.17 Million, is proposed to be funded through long-term borrowing with the Municipal Finance Authority (MFA) upon adoption of Loan Authorization Bylaw 2749, Q: What will the annual tax impact be for the average residential taxpayer in each of the participating jurisdictions? A: The annual cost per household within the participating service area is estimated to be $12.00 per year for 20 years based on an average residential property assessed at $294,000. Q: What if the RDNO receives approval from their electors and the CSRD does not (or vice-versa) will the project still proceed? A: No, the purchase arrangement would not be able to proceed as contemplated, as each Regional District is required to obtain the full share of its own financial contribution for the transaction to be completed. Q: Can individuals or organizations donate money towards purchasing the rail corridor and get a tax receipt? A: Yes, there is an opportunity to donate. If the Alternative Approval Process (AAP) is successful, the local government can provide a tax receipt for donations. If the majority of electors support the borrowing, then any funds received will be used to lessen the tax impact for all property owners in the participating service area. Q: Why is the RDNO borrowing funds for this purchase? A: As this will be a new service, the Regional District does not currently have sufficient funds available to complete this purchase. Q: How much will it cost each participating jurisdiction to borrow this money? A: The RDNO is proposing to borrow up to $2.3 million amortized over 20 years. The most recent MFA Bond Issue was 2.8%. The apportioned share of the annual repayment ($159,000) for each jurisdiction is below: Jurisdiction % of Total Annual Debt Repayment City of Armstrong 20.04% $31,864 City of Enderby 10.91% $17,347 Village of Lumby 8.81% $14,008 Township of Spallumcheen 29.02% $46,142 Electoral Area D 11.74% $18,667 Electoral Area F 19.48% $30,973 6

7 FAQ - FIRST NATIONS INVOLVEMENT Q: How has the Splatsin First Nation (Splatsin) been involved in discussions about the rail corridor? A: In fact, Splatsin initiated the process of acquiring the abandoned rail corridor. In December 2014, it was announced that the Secwepemc community had acquired 11.7 hectares of the discontinued railway. The rail line passes through two reserves by Mara Lake and Enderby. Chief Wayne Christian indicated at the time of the announcement that he planned to meet with local government leaders the following year, with a view to acquiring the remaining sections of the 50-kilometre corridor. In February, 2015, representatives from several North Okanagan local governments met with Splatsin Band officials to discuss opportunities to work together. While visions for the future of the rail corridor varied, there was broad support for maintaining the rail corridor as a continuous corridor for longer term strategic objectives, such as transportation planning, greenway, and recreation trails. A follow-up meeting was held in March 2015 to discuss next steps. It was agreed that the various interested parties would work under the umbrella of the two Regional Districts and the Splatsin Indian Band. It was further agreed that the Chairs of the two Regional Districts and the Band Chief would provide political leadership for advancing the initiative. Q: What about Splatsin? Doesn t some of the rail line pass through their reserve lands? A: As noted earlier, the three owner jurisdictions (i.e. RDNO, Splatsin & CSRD) have agreed that the corridor will be developed, operated and maintained for its use as a continuous recreational trail and its potential future use as a continuous multi-modal regional transportation corridor. Moreover, the owner jurisdictions will covenant with each other under the terms of a statutory right of way agreement for public access over those sections of the corridor that they own, to maintain it (and not encumber it) in perpetuity for these ultimate uses. FAQ - GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT Q: Why are the local governments and First Nations of the North Okanagan/Shuswap considering purchasing the rail corridor? A: After the formal discontinuance process had run its course, the Splatsin Indian Band successfully acquired two sections of the rail line, both of which run through Splatsin Reserves (a 1 km section immediately south of the District of Sicamous and a 6 km section starting immediately south of the City of Enderby between Enderby and Spallumcheen). Splatsin subsequently invited local governments to work with the Band on acquiring the remaining portions of the line. The vision was to pursue a strategic land acquisition of the abandoned CP rail line (Sicamous to Armstrong), as a continuous corridor. The vision is premised on the belief that protecting the rail line for use as a public right of way will benefit residents and recreational enthusiasts today and will provide opportunities to meet the transportation and economic needs of the region in the future. Given that Splatsin had already acquired approximately 7 km of the 50 km rail corridor, it was decided that RDNO and CSRD would consider purchasing the remainder of the rail corridor, with the purchase price to be shared 50/50 between RDNO and CSRD. Q: Which local government are involved? A: The local government stakeholders that are seeking to purchase and protect the corridor include: the Cities of Enderby and Armstrong, Township of Spallumcheen, Village of Lumby and Electoral Areas D and F of the Regional District of North Okanagan and the City of Salmon Arm, District of Sicamous, and Electoral Areas C, D, E and F of the Columbia Shuswap Regional District. 7

8 FAQ - ALTERNATIVE APPROVAL PROCESS Q: What is an Alternative Approval Process? A: An Alternative Approval Process (AAP) is one method of obtaining elector approval on local government bylaws or agreements that require the assent of the electors. The most common example of local governments using an AAP is for long-term borrowing. Q: How does it work? A: The AAP is like a reverse-referendum, whereby a person only submits a response to the local government if they are opposed to the specific purpose of the AAP (eg. borrowing money). Forms are provided to the public online and at the Regional District office. There is a minimum 30-day period to submit response forms. Q: Can anyone participate in the process? A: Persons are eligible to participate in the RDNO AAP if they meet the following criteria: eighteen years of age or older; Canadian Citizen; resident of British Columbia for at least the last six months; resident of, OR registered owner of real property within one of the participating service area jurisdictions within the RDNO for at least the last 30 days; not disqualified by law from voting in local elections; and have not previously signed an elector response form in relation to Bylaw Nos. 2748, 2017 or 2749, Q: When a property has multiple owners can each owner submit a response form? A: No, in such cases a majority of the property owners must appoint one of the owners in writing to submit a response form for that property. A form to be used in such cases is provided by the RDNO. Q: Why does the RDNO need public approval to borrow the funds? A: As per the Local Government Act, the RDNO must receive the approval of the electors before it can adopt a bylaw to establish the service and incur long-term debt. Q: Why doesn t the RDNO use a referendum (assent vote) to obtain public approval? A: Referendums are far more costly than an AAP. The cost of holding a referendum on Bylaw Nos. 2749, 2017 and 2749, 2017 is estimated to cost $75,000, where the costs of an AAP is limited to advertising and staff time. Note that if the AAP fails to provide elector support, the RDNO will not be able to adopt Bylaws No s 2748, 2017 or 2749, 2017 without proceeding to a referendum. Q: Can a response form be withdrawn after it is submitted? A: Yes, response forms can be withdrawn prior to the deadline of 4:00 p.m. on Monday, July 17, Withdrawal requests must be in writing and contain sufficient information to identify the elector concerned. They must be signed by the person making the request for withdrawal and delivered to the RDNO office. Q: Will response forms submitted electronically be accepted? A: No, elector response forms will not be accepted by fax or by . Rather, signed response forms must be hand delivered or mailed to the RDNO and must be post marked before the deadline of 4:00 p.m. on Monday, July 17, Q: What will the $2.3 million be used for? A: The approval to borrow $2.3 million will be to acquire a 50 percent ownership interest in the abandoned rail corridor from CP Rail. Q: Will the purchase of the corridor impact my taxes? A: Yes, if the AAP for both Regional Districts is successful, and you live within a participating jurisdiction of the RDNO or CSRD, there will be a tax impact to households within the service area of the RDNO. The annual cost per household within the service area is estimated to be $12.00 per year, for 20 years, based on an average residential property assessed at $294,000. Q: Will there be public consultation? A: The RDNO is committed to ensuring that the process is transparent and informative for all residents. Information will be provided through news media and the RDNO website at 8

9 FAQ - NEXT STEPS Q: What are the next steps? A: The success of the AAP remains a critical part of securing the funding to purchase the corridor land. Assuming public ownership is achieved through the AAP, the next step will be the establishment of an Inter-jurisdictional Development Team (IDT) to initiate a formal planning process. It is envisioned that the role of the IDT will be to initiate, prepare, coordinate, advise and make joint recommendations to the councils and board on the following matters: a plan for the development of a recreational trail along the entire corridor consistent with the shared objectives of the local government owners for the use and protection of the corridor; policies and regulations concerning the uses and activities permitted within the corridor; trail standards and designs (including minimum standards); a project schedule for the development of the corridor; cost estimates and funding strategies to undertake improvements consistent with approved standards and designs; standards for the maintenance of the corridor; policies for the administration of existing encroachment claims, leases, rights of way/ easements and other tenures or interests; and, fundraising strategies including joint applications for grant funding and partnering with fundraising groups. Q: What is it going to cost taxpayers to develop and maintain the rail corridor if the local governments buy it? A: While there may be costs in the future to develop and maintain the rail corridor, the overall objective is to fund development and maintenance costs through non-tax based revenues. Other models have shown that there may be options, other than taxation, for funding development and maintenance of corridors; the IDT will explore stimulus funding, government grant programs, fundraising and foundation contributions. Groups such as the Ribbons of Green Trails Society and the Okanagan Rail Trail Initiative Society have made a huge difference in advocating for and developing trail networks that are unquestioned assets in the North Okanagan. Parallel groups, such as the Shuswap Trail Alliance, are actively working in the CSRD region. Q: Who would the corridor be for? A: The corridor would be intended for the region as a whole; for the residents of the North Okanagan/ Shuswap and visitors. Q: Who should I contact if I have any questions that are not addressed in this FAQ or want to request additional information? A: Questions or requests for further information can be sent to Paddy Juniper, Deputy Corporate Officer or David Sewell, Chief Administrative Officer: corp@rdno.ca Phone: